Robbers Use Neighbor As Decoy

Gun-wielding bandits used a man as a decoy Sunday to help them rob his neighbors, police said.

The robbery occurred about 10:15 p.m. in the 1700 block of West Second.

The two robbers, armed with handguns, jumped the man as he worked on his car outside an apartment building, police said.

They forced him into the building and told him to knock on the door of an apartment occupied by two women and another man, police said.

When someone asked who was there, the decoy identified himself as a neighbor, police said.

When the residents opened the door, the gunmen rushed in, taking the decoy with them.

The bandits used duct tape to bind the hands of the two women and their companion, police said. The decoy was not tied up.

The robbers grabbed one wallet, a purse and jewelry before kicking and hitting the decoy, the man in the apartment and one of the women. They then ran away.

The victims told police that one robber was white, in his 20s, with short blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a khaki shirt and trousers and a white cap.

The other was a black man between 20 and 30 years old. He was 5-feet-7 and wore a blue sweat shirt, dark trousers and a cap.

, DataTimes